KEY STEPS

Rapidly expanding cities in Mexico are bringing with them increased energy demand and inefficient
transport patterns. Mexico’s residential sector currently accounts for about 16 per cent of
total energy use and 26 per cent of total electricity use. But sustainable housing requires
investment. This activity is helping Mexico tackle climate change by unlocking financing to build
low-carbon housing and increasing the amount of mortgages for low-carbon housing.
Fast facts:

In the first seven years ECOCASA is helping build 27,600 houses and finance an additional 1,700
"green" mortgages;

Providing financing to build more sustainable houses will help lower energy consumption and
spending, cut greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen government policies and initiatives;

The activity intends to reduce about one million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the first seven
years.

The residential sector is essential in Mexico’s commitment to reduce GHG emissions 50% (below
2002 levels) by 2050. The expansion of Mexican cities over the past years has significantly increased
their carbon footprint. According to estimates by the Social Development Ministry (SEDESOL), the pace
of urban expansion reached - in the last 30 years – an average of 50 hectars daily. Housing
represents no less than 60% of this growth. This expansion, when unchecked and/or insufficiently
planned, has created inarticulate cities and brought about increased energy demand, infrastructure
deficits and inefficient transport patterns.

A poorly designed house in a hot climate can use an additional 1.000 kWh per year, resulting in about
600 kg of CO2 unnecessarily released into the atmosphere. Poor planning and building practices result
in increased expenditure in transportation and energy, but also in a loss in quality of life, as
people spend a considerable amount of time commuting between work and home and live in houses with
very low levels of comfort.

The solution

By increasing both the production of low-carbon housing and the supply of mortgages for low-carbon
housing, ECOCASA is helping Mexico to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. ECOCASA is part of a
multi-pronged approach to help Mexico follow a low-carbon growth path over the medium- to
long-term.

Providing financing to build more sustainable houses will help lower energy consumption and spending,
cut greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen government policies and initiatives. In the first seven
years ECOCASA is helping build 27,600 houses and finance an additional 1,700 “green”
mortgages.

Spillover effect

The activity seeks to scale up the deployment of low-carbon housing by providing the financing and the
incentives that will lower the costs of both developing and acquiring low-carbon houses. The immediate
outcome of the activity will be the construction of houses with lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. But
it is also expected that the activity will provide additional, long-lasting benefits to the housing sector in
Mexico, as it will be part of Mexico’s Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) plan, joining
targeted efforts with relevant actors in the housing sector and contributing to the mainstreaming of
sustainability criteria in the housing industry.

The lessons learned from the project will be applicable to similar countries in the region, as well as in
other regions. As part of technical cooperation activities, a South‐South exchange with country experts
is envisioned.